Hello! Seems strange doing this page for Tim but thought this would be the easiest way to share this information with friends and family and keep you up to date. Tim has been feeling very tired for some time now so he went and had a physical about 5 weeks ago. His blood work came back and showed his bilirubin was high. His Dr thought he probably had Gilbert's Syndrome, which he was told isn't a real big deal. Dr. Pick scheduled an ultrasound on Tim's abdomen just to be sure. Tim had the ultrasound on July 17. The ultrasound showed he has a mass on his kidney. They scheduled a CT scan on July 20. It was confirmed that Tim has a 4.6 cm tumor on his right kidney. They are 90% sure it is renal cell carcinoma. The only way to tell for sure is once the tumor is removed, they will do testing on it. Either way, the tumor has to be removed. There are a few options "but since Tim is young and has a lot of life to live" his urologist suggested an open surgery. Because of the location of his tumor, he can't have a robotic or lathroscopic surgery. His surgeon is hoping he will only need to remove part of the kidney but won't know for sure until he gets in there. He also has a cyst on his left kidney, but that is fluid filled (so not harmful). I asked if that will affect him in any way if he has to remove the whole right kidney, but he said it would not. Dr. Kellerman is Tim's Urologist. We just got the call that his surgery is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, August 29 at 7:00 am. We were hoping he could have the surgery sooner, but two surgeons are needed for this and this is their first available date together. We are SO GRATEFUL that Tim went in and had this physical and grateful that Dr. Pick followed up with the testing. Dr Kellerman said most patients don't notice the symptoms until it's too late (meaning it has spread a lot). His high bilirubin has nothing to do with the tumor on his kidney, so we are so lucky it was found early. Such a reminder to us all to listen to our bodies and go to the doctor if we feel something isn't quite right. Yes, we are quite shocked at the news. And of course we will take all the prayers and positive thoughts we can get. We are praying that the tumor is contained and has not spread. We are praying that it isn't cancer (10% chance it isn't cancer) and if it is that they get it all in this surgery and no treatment is needed after. We are praying he doesn't have to remove the whole kidney. We are praying for complete healing and a quick recovery. Keeping Tim "rested" for 4 - 6 weeks will be a challenge in of itself. :) Thank you for your prayers and support. We believe strongly in the power of prayer and appreciate all we can get. Again, I feel strange sharing it this way but thought this would be the easiest way to just send one update to everyone when needed. Much love and appreciation...Barb & Tim
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